Teen’s Cocaine Bender Left Him in a Coma With ‘Devil Eyes’

A man from Salisbury in Wiltshire ended up in a coma with “devil eyes” after a five-day cocaine bender. 

At the time in 2021, Dave Mullen was suffering from drug-induced psychosis and nearly lost his life. His eyes remained so bloodshot from the drugs that, even months later, when he went to work in an old people’s home, he was chased by an elderly man with a bible who mistook him for the devil.

“This was a result of a four or five-day bender, and I ended up going into a drug-induced psychosis, and I completely lost my mind,” he explained to the Daily Mail. “I was completely blind and had no vision. Six weeks later, my eyes were still bloodshot, and my eyes were like this for two months.”

Mullen, who first tried cocaine when he was only 17, was 19 years old when he ended up in a coma in the ICU. He spoke with the Daily Mail about his experience with addiction. 

“Cocaine goes hand-in-hand with alcohol, and at a weak or naive moment, as I was young, someone offered me a line and I took it,” he told the outlet. 

19-Year-Old’s Cocaine Bender Left Him With ‘Devil Eyes’

What began as teenage naivety almost led to Mullen’s demise. His first experience with the drug was at his 17th birthday celebration in a pub. From there, however, it became a more regular part of his life.

“At 19, I noticed it had become an addiction,” he admitted. “It was clear not only to me but [to] my friends and people around that I had a bit of a problem with it.”

He added that his addiction only got worse over the years, and it began impacting his loved ones and his mental health. Of course, this only further fueled his desire to “escape” through drugs.

“It’s a difficult one as I always found a way that I could put myself in a situation where I could get it [cocaine] for free or for very cheap, but the amount I would do would be thousands of pounds worth,” he admitted to the Daily Mail.

You would think that his ICU visit and coma would have been a wake-up call, but unfortunately, addiction is a relentless demon.

It wasn’t until 2024, when doctors warned Mullen he was going to die, that he decided—once and for all—to stop. Walking out of the hospital alone, he realized the mental hell he was in. 

Only he could save himself—and he did just that.

“Fifteen months later, and I’m here and I have a TikTok account and I still haven’t looked back,” he told the outlet. “I feel completely reborn, and I’m now excited for my future.”

Mullen uses his TikTok account to spread awareness about the dangers of cocaine and addiction. He said that he doesn’t believe the youth receive enough education about drugs and alcohol. While we might be fed the narrative that “drugs are bad” and “drugs are illegal,” the taboo topic rarely gets deep enough to truly dissuade kids from experimenting.

“I this day and age, no one really pays attention to the law and doesn’t care if it’s illegal,” Mullen said. “I think my story and the pictures in particular show that it’s dangerous and I don’t want cocaine to be so normalised and acceptable in society.”